Elain Brown Tech 08.23.2022 01:Aug AM EDT

Telegram Looks Into Auctioning NFT-Like Smart Contracts for Usernames, Channel Links

Telegram is thinking about auctioning usernames, groups, and channel links. This idea was suggested by Telegram's founder, Pavel Durov.

It has been proposed that the marketplace could use "NFT-like smart contracts" in order to conduct auctions for usernames that are in high demand.

The success of the auction that The Open Network (TON) just recently held for their domain/wallet names inspired him to think of this idea, and it gained traction as a result.

In the middle of July, the blockchain project introduced a new service called TON DNS. This service allows users to give human-readable names to cryptocurrency wallets, smart contracts, and websites.

Durov stated, "If TON has been able to achieve these results, imagine how successful Telegram with its 700 million users could be if we put reserved @ usernames, group and channel links for auction."

He then added, "In addition to millions of catchy t.me addresses like @storm or @royal, all four-letter usernames could be made available for sale (@bank, @club, @game, @gift etc)."

Telegram Username Auction

The idea for a Telegram username auction does not seem far-fetched to the team of the company.

Considering that Durov and his team developed TON, previously known as the Telegram Open Network, in tandem with the messaging app in 2018, a related implementation of this idea would likely be somewhat simple for Telegram.

On August 22, Durov took to his own channel and published his thoughts regarding the possibility of the technology being implemented into Telegram.

Durov stated if the app would follow suit to that technology, "it would create a new platform where username holders could transfer them to interested parties in protected deals - with ownership secured on the blockchain via NFT-like smart-contracts."

It is possible that in the future additional components of the Telegram ecosystem, such as channels, stickers, or emoji, will also become a part of this marketplace.

The technology that TON uses to host these kinds of decentralized sales is probably the most advanced in terms of both scalability and speed.

The founder seems confident about the idea, with Durov stating that since they were the ones who came up with the language that TON uses for smart contracts, they are considering using TON as the underlying blockchain for their future marketplace.

NFT-Like Smart Contract

According to Cointelegraph, it was on July 30, that the first TON DNS auctions went live.

Like the Ethereum Name Service (ENS) ".eth" domains, the ".ton" modified version enables users to access decentralized applications without requiring them to enter a lengthy sequence of letters and numbers from their wallet addresses.

The TON network launches unique smart contracts on the blockchain using the programming language FunC, which is used for the TON Virtual Machine and by the TON network itself.

TON was at first designed as a digital payments network for Telegram; however, it almost immediately got into issues with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) because of an unregistered initial sale of $1.7 billion worth of Gram tokens.

Midway through the year 2020, Durov conceded defeat in his legal struggle with the SEC and stepped away from the project to concentrate on Telegram. Since that time, open source software developers have given the project under the name of The Open Network.